


Le Char (The Chariot)

by Rainieva



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: (Ish) - Freeform, (its only one word), (kinda), Angst with a Happy Ending, Arsene Speaks French, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon-Typical Behavior, Captain Kidd Speaks Gaelic, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Français | French, He deserves it in this one, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Let Sakamoto Ryuji Say Fuck, Light Angst, Lots of it (whoops), Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Language, Personality Swap, Sakamoto Ryuji Has A Palace, Similar but it's just the Personas, Translations in the Notes, Youll understand as you read, not DID
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27407878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainieva/pseuds/Rainieva
Summary: Akira could feel the bonds within him. They were linked together and to him like chains; unyielding and never broken. They burned deep in his chest and he could feel their warmth wherever he went. When he made a deal with people, he could feel it forge itself into his being. That's why when he felt one of the flames flicker, he felt his heart - or perhaps, his very soul crack.~~~Or, Akira realizes something has happened to Ryuji and goes to help him.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 17
Kudos: 138





	Le Char (The Chariot)

**Author's Note:**

> Arsene speaks French and tends to mix it into his speech. All translations are in the notes at the end of the work. However, most of it is just a few words, so you should be able to understand most of it without the translations anyway. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Akira could feel the bonds within him. They were linked together and to him like chains; unyielding and never broken. They burned deep in his chest and he could feel their warmth wherever he went. When he made a deal with people, he could feel it forge itself into his being. That's why when he felt one of the flames flicker, he felt his heart - or perhaps, his very soul crack.

It felt so wrong. Akira Kurusu lay awake, staring at the ceiling to his attic bedroom, wholly unable to sleep. His gaze flicked over to where Morgana sat on the bed. The cat slept soundly next to him, completely unaware of the turmoil he was going through. Carefully, he sat up, unable to ignore it anymore.

‘ _ Joker _ . You must know that something has happened.’

The familiar deep voice of his Persona echoed in his mind. Arsene was typically very quiet in comparison to the many other personas he had acquired over his time as a Phantom Thief. However, the only one he could hear outside of the Metaverse was Arsene himself. He usually had nothing more to say than a cheeky quip or otherwise. Tonight, he sounded serious.

"Obviously, but  _ what's _ wrong?" He whispered back, taking care not to wake Morgana.

There was a pause before he heard Arsene's voice again. ‘I have yet to hear from William.’

"William?" Akira repeated.

‘The one bound to  _ le Char _ , correct?’

Akira's breath caught in his throat, creating a lump of dread his voice couldn't break past. 'Le Char' was the Chariot or, as Akira knew him, Ryuji Sakamoto.

Suddenly, the situation went from bad to worse. Not only was it one of the people he had come to trust in this city, not only was it one of his friends and fellow Phantom Thief, it was Ryuji. The one who's been with him through it all.

"You talk to each other?"

‘ _ Vraiment _ ? Did you think we just waited for you to call on us?  _ Quel ennui… _ ’

Akira sighed, carding his hands through his hair and rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes. He grabbed his bag from the table near the stairs along with his fake glasses, descending the stairs to the cafe below. 

“Just how long has it been since you’ve heard from Captain Kidd?” Akira asked, checking his phone for the time before unlocking the door to Leblanc and exiting into the dark backstreets of Yongen-Jaya.

It was after midnight and he could hear his guardian, Sojiro Sakura, threatening to throw him out for being out so late. Still, this wasn’t something he could just ignore. Ryuji was in trouble. There was no way he could ignore that.

‘A day or so, _ je crois _ ,’ The Persona answered.

“But I talked to Ryuji at school today.”

Arsene chuckled, darkly. ‘ _ Le Char _ hides things much better than you think. All  _ les Voleurs Fantômes _ wear masks, after all.’

At that, Akira took off at a run. Ryuji had only invited Akira over a finite number of times but he remembered that he didn’t actually live that far from Leblanc. Still, he just kept running down the twisting residential streets, searching for anything that looked remotely familiar. Running out of breath, Akira turns a corner and is met with an apartment building he’s been to before. He stopped momentarily to try and remember which of the many doors belonged to the blond thief but was quickly interrupted by the distant sounds of shouting. Fearing the worst, Akira booked it in the direction of the voices.

Skipping the steps of the rickety, iron stairs, Akira could hear the voices getting louder.

“What fuckin’ right do you got talkin’ to me like that, brat?!” The older, gruff voice sounded slurred and unnatural.

“What fuckin’ right do you got comin’ here askin’ for money in the middle of the night?!” This voice was familiar but held an anger he'd only heard when he talked to Kamoshida.

“Ain’t family supposed to help each other?!”

“You ain’t my fuckin’ family!”

Akira reached the top of the stairs to see an older man with black hair bring the back of his left hand down on Ryuji’s cheek. The two of them stood a ways forward in front of an open apartment door. A thin woman with messy, brown hair pulled up in a bun stood in the doorway behind Ryuji with a look of shock painted on her features.

Akira felt his body tighten violently and jaw locked into what must have looked like a scowl. His focus solely on the drunken man in the hallway.

‘ _ Retenez-vous, Joker. _ ’ Arsene’s deep voice scolded in French, going unheard by the enraged boy.

Akira stalked forward, the edges of his vision clouded with anger. He faintly registered Ryuji calling his name before he raised his fist, punching the man, just missing his nose and connecting with his cheek. The man staggered back with a pathetic whimper in pain.

“Who the fuck are you?!” 

“Leave.” Akira growled, eyes narrowed on the man before him like prey.

“Akira? What are ya doin’ here?” He heard Ryuji ask from behind him.

Akira simply remained positioned between the Sakamotos and the drunk man; glaring intently.

The man shuffled back pitifully, mumbling curses before stumbling past them to the stairs Akira had used to get there. Akira felt the tension slowly release from his body as he let his fists unclench.

“Akira! Why’d ya do that, man? What ‘bout your record?” Ryuji gripped his shoulders, turning him around to face him.

He felt his voice catch in his throat. Ryuji’s left cheek was red and starting to swell some. Wordlessly, he raised a hand and carefully placed a finger beneath his chin to look at the injury.

“Are you okay?”

Ryuij’s brows furrowed in confusion, pain lingering in those beautiful brown eyes. From behind him, Ms. Sakamoto peaked out of the apartment with tears in her eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, I told him not to come back yesterday,” She looked down at her hands, her face was worn well beyond her years due to stress.

“Hopefully he won't come back after that.” Akira gave her a kind smile to reassure her.

She nodded and headed back into the apartment, squeezing Ryuji’s arm a bit before closing the door. Ryuji turned back to the leader, eyes filled with the questions Akira had neglected to answer.

“We should get some rest. I’ll explain everything in the morning.”

Hesitantly, Ryuji agreed, retreating back into the apartment. Akira sighed deeply, the last of the tension leaving his body now that Ryuji was safe.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing,  _ Joker _ .’ Arsene echoed in his head.

~~~

Akira messaged everyone to meet at Leblanc the following day. If he was going to explain this, it was only going to be once. Ryuji was the first to arrive, unsurprising due to the previous night's events. Slowly, the other thieves arrived, filling out the usually empty booths of the cafe. Akira sat in one of the booths next to Ann with Ryuji and Haru across from him. Yusuke and Makoto sat at the bar while Futaba leaned over the back of the booth.

“What was this meeting for, Akira?” Makoto asked, clearly wanting to get right to business.

Akira took a deep breath before starting. “Well, this will make the most sense to Ryuji right now but I only wanted to explain this once, so…”

He watched the other teenagers as he continued. “Do you remember making a deal with me?”

The other thieves exchanged confused glances before nodding or giving hums of affirmation.

“Well, when we did that, I forged a bond with each of you that is represented by one of the major arcana.”

The other teenagers seemed to only become more confused, looking between one another as if trying to confirm something.

“So… what does that have to do with us? Or Ryuji?” Ann piped up from the seat next to him.

“Uh, because of those bonds, I know when something is wrong.”

Everyone remained just as confused except for a certain blond who stared at the leader with wide eyes.

“That’s how ya knew, last night?” He asked.

“Last night?” Akira heard Futaba snicker over his shoulder but he ignored her.

“I think so,”

“‘Ya think’? You sound like Morgana.” Ryuji groaned, earning a glare from the cat from his place on the table.

“I don’t really understand it myself. This is just what Arsene told me.”

“You can talk to your Persona?” Morgana almost yelped in surprise.

“Uh, yeah…” Akira could feel his teammates' confusion and was honestly sorry he couldn’t provide better answers for them.

‘Shall I assist?’ Arsene’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Akira asked aloud, continuing to confuse the other thieves around him.

He is answered with a deep chuckle. ‘ _ Autorise moi _ .’

He felt a burning sensation surge through his entire body, engulfing his senses until it felt like he was watching the scene through clouded vision. He felt his body move without his command as it slipped off his glasses and pushed his curly bangs out of his eyes.

Haru gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “Akira… your eyes...”

His eyes had turned to a bright yellow, matching those of the many Palace rulers they had taken down over the past half year. A dark chuckle that didn’t sound like him slipped from his lips, turned up in a sly smirk.

“I’m afraid that isn’t exactly correct,  _ Impératrice _ .” Arsene's voice seemed to purr out the unfamiliar syllables with ease. “ _ S'il vous plaît _ , call me Arsene fellow  _ voleurs _ .”

“You mean the Persona?” Ryuji questioned insistently.

" _ Pourquoi oui, mon Char _ . Now, I’m sure you have questions about  _ mon Joker _ and the bonds,  _ oui _ ? Ask away.”

The teens looked at one another, hardly processing what was happening before them. Arsene simply reclined in the booth lazily with a smirk only seen on Joker in the Metaverse before now.

“Just what, exactly, are these bonds for?” Makoto spoke up first.

“The bonds connect  _ les confidents _ in order to better prepare  _ le Joker pour _ the impending ruin.” Arsene kicked his feet up onto the table, startling Morgana slightly.

“I can barely understand ya when ya talk like that! What are you even sayin’?” Ryuji chided, crossing his arms, giving Arsene a strange look that Akira couldn’t quite decipher.

“Do not worry,  _ mon cher Char _ .” Arsene chuckled, giving him a look that made Ryuji look away quickly.

‘Would you stop?’ Akira hissed from the recesses of his own mind.

“‘Stop’ what,  _ chers Joker _ ?”

‘Flirting.’ He got out through gritted teeth.

“ _ Pourquoi? Jaloux? _ ” Arsene teased in French to hide his intentions from the rest of the group.

“Why are you telling us this?” Yusuke pointed out.

“ _ Empereur _ brings up an excellent point. Well, our young  _ Char _ was in a bit of trouble yesterday,  _ vrai _ ?”

Ryuji looked down at his hands in his lap.

“What happened, Ryuji?” Ann asked, clearly concerned.

Ryuji remained silent for one of the first times since Akira had met him.

“The ‘what’ isn’t exactly the problem. It’s what happened because of it.” Arsene answered. “ _ Tu vois _ , he has lost his contract with William.”

“William? You mean Ryuji’s Persona?” Morgana parroted.

“But that doesn't make any sense!” Ryuji jumped up, hands slammed on the table, surprising the other teens while Arsene remained still and confident as ever. He swung his legs off the table and stood to be eye level with Ryuji.

“ _ Alors dites-moi, Char, _ do you feel the will of rebellion within you?”

Ryuji seemed to tense and almost retreat under Arsene's burning golden eyes. He looked away, slumping back down in the booth. Arsene chuckled, running hand through the stubborn curls as he sat down.

"I assume you wish to regain your lost power,  _ non _ ?"

"How did he lose his Persona in the first place?" Makoto pressed, looking suspicious of the situation.

" _ Chers Prêtresse _ , a gentleman would never kiss and tell." Arsene smirked devilishly, eyes only landing on Ryuji for a moment.

"I-It wasn't like that!" Ryuji protested, almost standing again. "I just- My… my dad showed up again."

Ann gasped while a few of the others gave the blond curious looks.

"It's not worth gettin' into. He was and still is a piece of shit that keeps ruinin' my life." The words pulled themselves from his chest painfully as he buried his head in the palms of his hands. After a moment he looked up, eyes slightly red. "But Akira was there to help last night."

The thieves were silent under the weight of the new information. Only Makoto found the words to formulate a question for the Persona sitting before them.

“These… bonds, Akira said they were represented by the major arcana? What exactly does that mean?” She crossed her arms in thought, a hand resting on her chin.

“ _ Les Arcanes _ represent the nature of the bond  _ avec L'Idiot _ . Have you not been listening,  _ Prêtresse _ ?” Arsene smirked.

Makoto frowned, seemingly offended by the Persona’s teasing.

“You mean how you keep calling Ryuji ‘ _ Le Char _ ’ or something?” Futaba piped up, the language sounding stilted and harsh coming from her unpracticed lips.

“ _ Oui, Joker _ is  _ L’Idiot _ , you are  _ L'Ermite, Les Amoureux, La Prêtresse, L'Empereur, Le Magicien, L'Impératrice _ ,” Arsene pointed to each of the thieves before finally landing on Ryuji. “And, of course,  _ Le Char _ .”

“We can’t understand ya! Speak in Japanese!” Ryuji shouted, aiming a frustrated glare directly at Arsene.

He simply sighed and repeated his action but repeating the names of the arcana in Japanese.

“What do tarot cards have to do with anything?” Ann asked, twirling the end of her pigtail between her fingers.

“I read that the major arcana told a story where the Fool went on a journey of self discovery, encountering the major arcana who each taught him something along the way.” Yusuke spoke up.

“ _ Exactement, Empereur! Alors, mon Char, _ what makes you  _ Le Char _ ?”

Ryuji furrowed his eyebrows, not knowing where to begin.

“I believe the Chariot represents strength in the ego and successes. In other words, confidence and often arrogance, believing they can take on most anything.” Yusuke offered.

“That does sound like Ryuji.” Morgana snickered.

“Does it?” Arsene questioned, golden eyes fixed on Ryuji who refused to look up to meet them.

“Ryuji?” Ann called softly, trying to get some sort of answer from him.

“Reversed, the Chariot can represent a lack of direction or,” Yusuke paused, eyes flicking to the blond before continuing, “...self doubt.” 

Ryuji appeared to flinch at the words, his head still bowed and not looking at the team of thieves.

Another sickening silence overtook the group, but it was quickly broken by Arsene swinging his feet off of the table and standing from the booth seat. He ran his hand through the mess of fizzy locks, looking less and less like the Akira they had come to know by the second. He turned his back to the teenagers, placing the hand that ran through his hair on the back of his neck and stretching lazily.

“All of you are Phantom Thieves,  _ vrai _ ? You chose to rebel against the society that denied you. Will you give up when your only enemy is yourself?” He turned to look at them over his shoulder. “All of the tarot can be reversed.”

Suddenly, Akira’s body felt light and his vision seemed to clear. The feeling of regaining control of his body was an odd sensation that left his mind reeling and a bit dizzy. Yusuke, being the closest, reached out to steady their leader as he noticed how severely he was wobbling.

“Akira! Are you alright?” Yusuke asked.

Akira reached up to his face, trying out control of his arms before moving to sit back in the booth. “Uh, I think so. “

“So… that’s Arsene?” Futaba decided that to be the most poignant question at that moment.

“Yeah,” Akira answered, unsure of anything more to say.

“What do we do now?” Haru inquired with her hands pressed together in her lap.

Akira sighed, knowing how unfair this must all sound but soldiers through anyway. “That’s… up to Ryuji.”

The blond’s head snapped up to look up at Akira for the first time in a while. “What do ya mean?”

“You heard Arsene. Your enemy is yourself, so you have to choose to face this or not yourself.”

Ryuji looked away again, a painful look in his eyes. Akira felt compelled to reach out and turn his head back to face him. He wanted to fix this for him but the deep voice of reason in his head told him that he couldn’t.

“I--” Ryuji looked tormented by the decision but let his gaze meet the eyes of the leader that had returned to their dark grey color. “I’ll do it.”

Akira gave him a reassuring smile. “Then let’s do this.”

~~~

The thieves found themselves in the depths of Mementos, facing a sealed door. Surprisingly, they had made it there without much issue even with Ryuji resigning to the sidelines. They reached the break in the multitude of floors to find what they were looking for.

A slumped figure sat against one of the columns. The bright golden eyes of the shadow appeared even brighter against the familiar blond hair of their friend. Ryuji’s Shadow wore his usual school uniform but looked far more dejected than the shadows they had faced before. The Shadow barely turned to register them.

“Great. I guess I did somethin’ wrong. Again.”

The Shadow sounded like Ryuji but distortion permeated from the words and his tone was defeated and nothing like the Ryuji they knew. It didn’t sound like the bright boy Akira went out to eat or to the gym with and part of him hated it.

“Ryuji…” Akira heard Panther call out to the Shadow sadly.

The Shadow rose from its place on the ground, moving to the center of the floor. “Let me guess. I fucked up and now you guys gotta clean up after me?”

“Ryuji, we’re just here to help.” Queen asserted, getting into a defensive stance.

The Shadow bowed his head with a sad, tired chuckle. “Right because Ryuji the fuck up, the dissapointment, can’t help himself, yeah?” It’s eyes stopped on Ryuji, hanging back in what Akira could only assume to be fear.

Akira looked between the two of them, wishing he knew how to fix this. This was different from their usual missions where they could just beat the shadow into submission. This was Ryuji. Force could just make it worse for all they knew.

“Ryuji! You have to do this!” He shouted.

Without his mask to hide his face, Ryuji’s fear was clear, unable to rip his eyes from his distorted Shadow. The blond stood frozen a few feet from his other self but the Shadow quickly started to close the distance, a cruel look Akira has never seen on the other boy until now.

“Goin’ to hide behind your friends? If only they were there to save your ass all those years ago.” It seethed making Ryuji shudder and take a hesitant step back. “Even after all that time in the Phantom Thieves, you’re still that snivelling, weak child who couldn’t do anything, right?”

Ryuji’s eyes remained wide in fear and Akira could barely make out large tears at the corners threatening to spill over. Compelled by emotion alone, Akira surged forward to stand between the Shadow and Ryuji.

The Shadow looked surprised for a split second before leaning back in a fit of distorted laughter. “Of course you’re the first to come to his rescue, ‘Kira.”

“ _ Ne m'appelles pas comme ça _ .” Akira heard the words leave his mouth before he realized what it meant.

However, the Shadow didn’t recoil, only smirking past the leader to the fearful boy behind him. “Are you goin’ to pull him down with ya, too?” 

Akira opened his mouth to retort but billowing shadows of distortion surrounded the Shadow. It was wrapped in darkness and the already dark Mementos grew even darker. Hushed, harsh whispers filled the corridor, most of which were unintelligible but the ones Akira were able to make out were not pleasant. Most of them were an older man and sounded slurred but a few he recognized to be the voices of Kamoshida and the track team.

Akira turned to check on the boy behind him but his eyes were as wide as saucers, fear and panic written all over it. His hands reached up and clasped the sides of his face to cover his ears and squeezing his eyes closed tightly. Akira rushed to his side, one hand trying to steady his quivering shoulders while the other found the blond's cheek, pulling his face to look at him. His cheek was wet with spilled tears so Akira pushed them away.

“Ryuji! Look at me, please? Just look at me, okay?” He coaxed, hoping the other boy could still hear him. 

Ryuji’s stiff limbs pulled away for a moment and the lids of his eyes pried themselves open. The pools of chocolate brown were rimmed with red and pain.

“Hey, Ryu. It’s just me. Just listen to me, okay? We’re here for you. We aren’t going anywhere. Nothing it says is true, it’s just your cognition. We know how cognition works, right? It isn’t real. Just listen to me.”

Akira held the sides of the blond’s head, trying to block out the voices with his own. Everytime a tear started to collect on his eyelashes or his attention would shift, Akira would push it away and pull his focus back on his words.

“How fuckin’ pathetic. Ya haven’t grown at all. You aren't worth their time.” The Shadow spat in Ryuji’s direction, making the boy shudder.

“Hey, what did I say? Don’t listen to him.” Akira tried but Ryuji’s body stiffened in fear once again.

Ryuji's legs finally gave in to the insistent shaking. His knees hit the cold stone of Mementos and Akira followed him down, still holding onto the boy tightly. The blond's trembling and the rate at which tears collected and subsequently fell increased exponentially. Akira, in all his best efforts, couldn't seem to reach the thief before him.

"Ryu? Hey, please listen? It's just me. Please listen to me!" The leader pleaded, forcing his mask off his face to rest on his head.

Ryuji's eyes met Akira's after what must have only been a few moments but felt like an eternity. 

"I- I- I-I'm sorry," The boy's voice was small and strained. "I-I can't…"

The Shadow's dark, distorted laughter swelled from behind Akira. It stalked forward, reaching out and grabbing the back of Joker’s coat collar and wrenching backwards and away from the blond boy. Akira grunted in pain as his back hit the hard floor a few feet away as the other thieves rushed to his side, calling out his codename. The Shadow then grabbed the front of Ryuji’s shirt, pulling up to his knees so that they were only a few inches apart. The Shadow’s glare remained cruel and unwavering as Ryuji gripped the wrist of the arm holding him up with shaking hands.

“No one has ever cared about you, boy! You can’t even stand up for yourself! Ya think if you can prove you're cool, the people around you won’t abandon ya, right? “

Ryuji tried to pull away tears freely running down his cheeks, primal fear never leaving his face. Akira, still slightly sore from the impact, stood and beelined to the Shadow. He grabbed the hand holding onto Ryuji’s top and wretched it free, pulling the fearful blond away from the source of his strife. 

The Shadow let out an inhuman growl as the two boys backed away, Ryuji’s eyes fixed on his other self but quickly wavering. The blond looked so scared and lost amongst the whispers of his past like it could swallow him forever. The words boiled in Akira’s abdomen and threatened to spill out. Nothing he did seemed to distract the boy long enough to calm him down. Out of options, Akira steeled his nerves and forced Ryuji to turn and look at him rather than the intimidating Shadow.

The blond’s face was red and streaked with tears, making his brown eyes glassy and appear larger than usual. He placed each of his hands on either side of his face and stared back at him with a strong, determined, and unyielding eyes. 

“Listen to me. You are a worthy Phantom Thief and we couldn’t do this without you. Please believe in yourself.” He pulled the boy forward, letting their lips meet, trying to push the words into the other boy.

Ryuji flinched in surprise and it took a few moments for him to realize what was happening and returned the kiss. He felt the blond start to relax against him. A rush of adrenaline ran through the both of them, newly realized feelings bubbling over like a boiling pot. Akira laced his fingers together behind the former athlete’s neck, letting his eyes close and enjoy the moment. Ryuji, lost in emotion, let the muscles in his body melt as he reached up and gripped the lapels to Joker’s black coat, pulling the leader in further. They must have looked like quite the sight, knelt on the ground of Mementos, finally stepping past the metaphorical line they had set as friends. After so many months of lingering looks and touches led them to a single moment.

Pulling away, Akira’s breath caught seeing the object of his affection red in the face, eyes half closed and panting slightly. Unable to resist, he lunges forward for another, possibly more passionate and bruising than the first. Carefully, they separated, just staring at one another wordlessly.

‘ _ Bravo, Joker. _ ’ Arsene chuckled, thoroughly amused.

“What the hell are ya doin’?!” The Shadow snarled, maliciously baring unnaturally sharp teeth.

Akira stood, giving Ryuji a reassuring smile before turning to face the Shadow. Determined, he closed the few feet of distance between them and took hold of the Shadow’s chin. Startled and confused, the Shadow started to resist when Akira silenced it’s protests with a similarly hard kiss that he’d given Ryuji. The Shadow simply froze and stood aghast at the thief’s actions.

Once he backed away, he got a better look at the other Ryuji’s face. It was a comparable flushed red, looking astonished and overall perturbed.

“Don’t say that about my boyfriend.” Akira’s voice was much more resolute than it had been in a while.

Soft snickers caught the transfer student’s attention, seeing the other thieves in various states of shock and amusement. Oracle and Panther whispered to one another, small laughs lightning the atmosphere. Fox and Noir didn’t seem very surprised but happy nonetheless while Mona’s eyes were still wider than normal and his mouth hung open. 

“I swear, he’s just like you, Lupin.” The voice was vaguely familiar in tone but was decidedly not the same as it was before. The Shadow, appearing to have composed itself, gave Akira a tired look.

“Lupin?” One of the thieves repeated, questioningly.

Much like the line of French that found its way from within the depths of his chest, another reposed whelmed up within him. Only after did he realize the voice coming from him was Arsene.

“ _ Et lui vous _ , William. But, must you really be so dramatic?”

The Shadow, now acting as Captain Kidd, chuckled and rolled his golden eyes. “I don’t need a lesson in histrionics from you,  _ mèirleach _ ,”

With a final look at the curly haired teen before him, Kidd directed his attention to the blond behind him. “And what about you, kid?”

Hesitantly, Ryui stood and walked up to face his Shadow. “I-I’m sorry. I was so focused on tryin’ to feel like somebody needed me and then my dad showed up and--” Ryuji fought through his apology, only look up into the shadow’s eyes for a moment.

“I won’t back down ever again. You can count on that.” He stated with renewed conviction.

Kidd paused but a pleased grin spread across his face and he started to glow a bright white light. “You’d better.”

Once again, the Shadow returned to its form as Captain Kidd, Ryuji’s Persona. Exhausted, Ryuji slumped over a bit only for Akira to quickly reach his side to hold him up. The other thieves joined them, soft smiles among all of them.

“Uh, thanks guys. Sorry ‘bout all that.” Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“No worries! Besides, me and Futaba have had a bet going for a while.” Ann pushed up her Phantom Thief mask, a satisfied smirk now clearly visible.

“I can’t believe Joker confessed first!” Futaba whined, half heartedly. “I was so sure he’d just ruminate in his stupid feelings all year!”

“You thought I’d what?” Akira raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“You hardly talk about yourself at all! I thought you’d just let your little crush stay a crush but I failed to factor in your Joker confidence!” She explained.

“My what?” He remained just as confused but Ryuji, still slightly off balance, leaned against the leader.

“Thank you, ‘Kira.”

“Always.” 

**Author's Note:**

> TRANSLATIONS
> 
> Joker - (Wild Card)  
> Le Char - (The Chariot)  
> Vraiment - (Really/Truely)  
> Quel ennui - (How boring)  
> Je crois - (I believe)  
> les Voleurs Fantômes - (the Phantom Thieves)  
> Retenez-vous, Joker - (Restrain yourself, Wild Card)  
> Autorise moi - (Allow me)  
> Impératrice - (Empress)  
> S'il vous plaît, call me Arsene fellow voleurs. - (Please, call me Arsene fellow thieves)  
> Pourquoi oui, mon Char - (Why yes, my Chariot)  
> mon Joker - (My Wild Card)  
> mon cher Char - (My dear Chariot)  
> chers Joker - (dear Wild Card)  
> Pourquoi? Jaloux? - (Why? Jealous?)  
> Empereur - (Emperor)  
> Vrai? - (Right/True)  
> Tu vois - (You see)  
> Alors dites-moi, Char - (Then tell me, Chariot)  
> Chers Prêtresse - (Dear Priestess)  
> Les Arcanes - (The Arcana)  
> avec L'Idiot - (with the Fool)  
> L'Ermite, Les Amoureux, Le Magicien - (The Hermit, The Lovers, The Magician)  
> Exactement, Empereur! Alors, mon Char, what makes you Le Char? - (Exactly, Emperor! Then, my Chariot, what makes you the Chariot?)  
> Ne m'appelles pas comme ça. - (Don’t call me that.)  
> Bravo, Joker. - (Well done, Wild Card)  
> Et lui vous - (And he you)
> 
> Mèirleach - (Thief)
> 
> (The last one is Scottish Gaelic, not French because William Kidd was Scottish.)
> 
> How did you like it?  
> I really like the idea of talking to the core Personas more because I fee like they are kinda just... there, in the game? I mean, all the awakenings are very unique in how they talk or address the Persona-user so I try to base their personality on that. (Also just my own inferences and research on the real life inspiration.) 
> 
> Anyways, comments and kudos are always welcome and encouraged!


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